Winter's Gamble
by Buwaro
Summary: A short oneshot involving a mother Pokemon making a tough decision in a place where everything, including life and death, comes down to luck.


Ah, who'd have thought that such a strange thing could ever have been invented during a lunch hour. Well, I'm not complaining, this is a one-shot that I can actually be proud of. And I can't put my finger on why I like this as much as I do, seeing as my ego isn't big enough to allow me to settle at "it's awesome."

Anyway, inspiration for this comes from a certain fiction written by a friend of mine, Shiguya Retomasi. One that, unfortunately, is no longer on this site. Which is as mighty shame, especially as I can't remember what it was called. Still, even if I can't point you in the right direction to find the right fiction, involving two Vaporeons, he still deserves credit where it is due.

Oh, and I have to say it... Pokemon isn't owned by me, although I wish it did, then the anime wouldn't be so boring.

**Winter's Gamble - Artemis**

The northern-most part of Hoenn was one of the last places to have a child. The bitter wind echoed across the snow and ash-covered wastelands, and it was an almost permanently winter. There were few grazers, and even then only nearer the warmer open plains where vegetation existed under the covering of snow. The mountains were home only to predators, only to those capable to withstanding the sleet and hail. Survival here was down to luck, and the odds favoured the mountains. And very rarely were they stacked in favour of the Absol that lived in that region.

Artemis was good at reading odds. And, as her newborn pup lay in the snow, she didn't like those chances. They were out in the open, forced away from her den by an Ursaring that had caught her scent. The tiny thing at Artemis' paws had no protection against the frigid air, unable to do anything bar whimper and shiver. She gritted her teeth, knowing from experiance that it would freeze in a matter of minutes. And she was exhausted after fleeing from the hungry bear Pokemon, and giving birth...

So she was left with two choices: leave the pup to die, luring any nearby predators away from her until she had enough energy to fight again... Or take it with her, make a mad sprint for the den and hope that nothing came after them. Either way, the odds of the kit surviving were low, the odds of her surviving not much higher. But, there was one thing that gave them both a slight edge; the Ursaring that had found them had stumbled into a glacier before it had been able to mark the den. So far, they had both been lucky.

Artemis didn't even need to think before she chose her path. She bent her neck and picked up her pup in her jaws, careful not to tear into the newborn, before she took off at full tilt. Bounding through the thin layers of snow, her paws able to pick up minute changes in the ground that warned her of any ice, or worse. She managed to skirt around the glacier that had claimed the bear Pokemon, the hole had already sealed over and nearly completely invisible. The pup was almost silent but she was able to feel its feeble paws against her throat as she got closer to the den.

Praying to the mountain, just for the odds to swing her way just a little longer, she barreled straight through the opening, horn on her head crashing into the rocky tunnel of the roof and dislodging the snow above, masking the entrance from sight of the outside. But that didn't mean she was safe; until tomorrow, when a new layer of snow would have formed, her scent would still be prominent. Any enemy with a decent sense of smell would be able to locate that buried entrance, and she was too exhausted to fight if such a thing happened.

In fact, she was so exhausted that she slumped to the ground, the kit sliding to the floor. It was silent, but Artemis could just see the tiny chest moving with minute breaths. She moved closer to the kit, letting it gain warmth in her white fur before falling into total slumber. If she never woke up, if there would be a tiny corpse the next day, that was for the odds to say. Odds that would be decided by the evening mist; if it was thick then her scent would be masked and predators would find it nearly impossible to track her back to the den. If it wasn't, then both her and her kit would end up a meal for a hungry creature and its own young.

That was the way of the mountain. Lives given and taken away by sheer luck, it was a cruel and harsh existence, but it was all Artemis had. Existing, and the tiny bundle that dug itself into her thick chest-tuft for warmth. So, when she awoke to a set of miniature red eyes, her child blinking up at his mother, she couldn't help but grin.

After all, Absol were experts at beating the odds.


End file.
